Players under delusion code can't thrive without them

When the Brumbies lost to the Stormers at the weekend, they did so obviously hindered by the lack of the booming left boot of their exciting fullback Jesse Mogg, a name already mentioned as a possible Wallaby by coach Robbie Deans ahead of a British and Irish Lions tour that will define sporting lives.

And when Bill Pulver was appointed to run Australian rugby, one of the key needs – glaringly so – was to make the people who sustain the game feel reconnected to the Wallabies, to swell with pride when they think of that jersey and of those who wear it.

Now is not the time for Kurtley Beale to add to a list of misdemeanours that have the tediously familiar ingredients each time. The Wallabies of 2012 did not yell indispensability.

All manner of reasons will be identified as the root of the problem that led to Cooper Vuna alleging on Twitter that Beale planted one on him. The story goes that on the Wallabies' end-of-season tour last year, senior Wallabies had one eye on Beale, looking out for him.

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The reward was the late try against Wales that changed what was looking like a 2-2 tour record into a creditable 3-1.

The absence of Beale's two amigos, James O'Connor and Quade Cooper, from that trip will fuel the arguments of those who say they are better apart. Accordingly, the Rebels' environment will also come under scrutiny, especially on the back of their 64-7 demolition at the hands of the Sharks during which tackling seemed largely optional.

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But take that back one step further. Despite some incriminating evidence to the contrary in recent times, including the pool-party photograph that made four Wallabies with 145 caps among them look like applicants who did not make the cut for Jersey Shore, rugby players are grown men.

You cannot keep them under lock and key. If individuals want to treat the trip to South Africa as an excursion on which to blow off steam, Rebels coach Damien Hill is essentially beholden to them. All Blacks Cory Jane and Israel Dagg set off on their own extra-curriculum nocturnal mission during the 2011 World Cup. Teammate Zac Guildford was a one-man rampage in Raratonga. And this was an All Blacks set-up that proudly made public its work in getting rid of a booze culture.

Now the attention will turn to the appropriate punishment should the parties be found guilty (and those involved must be given their chance to explain). The Rebels have been quick to get on the front foot and while the Wallabies' integrity officer, Phil Thomson, is already involved, it is understood action in the first instance will come at the franchise level.

If there was a public appetite for strong action to be undertaken, it would be understandable – if for nothing else but to send a message to players about the responsibility that comes with privilege.

There is a notion, entertained by some players, that the game is about them: that the crowds would diminish should they be deprived of their ability to throw a ball from left to right better than others; that the merchandise and sponsorship dollars would dry up.

Let's disabuse them of that idea. There is no surer guarantee that if you plucked 20-odd blokes from the street, regardless of athletic ability, clad them in gold and did the same from the other side of the ditch, putting them in black, and let them beat the daylights out of each other in national competition the stadiums would still be filled.

That Test jersey is not owned. It's on loan. If you're lucky, you get it for a few years; blessed if it's longer than that. The Kurtley Beales will come and go. If he wants to, a player of his talent could be a Wallaby for the next five years, a World XV player, and the man around which a developing side such as the Waratahs could build a team that could really push for the Super Rugby title. But like the decisions that keep getting him in strife, it is entirely up to him.